**1 – Ochai Agbaji -** Come on, now. Who else was it going to be and what else can I tell you? Monday night might wind up going down as the night that Agbaji won national player of the year. There’s still a long way to go and he has to keep playing. But there’s no reason to think he’ll fall off and, if anything, he might just keep getting better. Scoring 37 points on 23 shots is insanely efficient. Playing 46+ minutes is insanely tough. And knocking in 7 3-pointers, including a gotta-have-it jumper in OT is insanely clutch. When you combine the way he’s playing with the type of person he is, it’s impossible not to love every second of this for KU’s best player.
**2 – Christian Braun -** He’ll tell you he didn’t shoot it well and had an off night. And, yeah, it certainly looked like that at times in this one. But Braun played a team-high 48:20 and still found a way to fill up the stat sheet with 15 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists. Against the defensive juggernaut that is Texas Tech. Forget about the 4-of-13 shooting clip and the 3 turnovers. Braun competed and produced. And his 6-of-7 shooting mark at the free throw line was massive.
**3 – Jalen Wilson -** Didn’t have it on the offensive end, scoring just 9 points on 3-of-10 shooting, but he, like Braun, competed his butt off and that showed up on the glass, where he grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds. Wilson also played huge minutes (47:31) and swiped 3 steals and dished 2 assists. A few weeks ago if Wilson had shot the ball like he did on Monday, the rest of his line would’ve been pretty thin along with it. But he’s reached the point now — as a competitor and one of this team’s leaders — that he can still impact games in a big way even if his shot’s not falling. That’s major growth and maturity in a short period of time and it has played a huge role in KU’s current five-game winning streak.
**4 – David McCormack -** Let’s give McCormack the credit he deserves for finding a way to put up 13 points in 23 minutes on a night when he didn’t have his best. He hit 3-of-5 from the floor, including two monster dunks, and, most importantly shot 7-for-8 from the free throw line while grabbing 5 rebounds – 3 offensive – and dishing 1 assist. One of the overlooked moments of McCormack’s night came late in the game, when he chose not to do something instead of doing it. After catching a pass on the baseline in front of the KU bench, McCormack flinched and looked as if he might go up to shoot a 12-foot jumper. He thought better of it, exercised patience and passed the ball to a teammate for what turned out to be two points. That might not seem like a lot, but it’s also a sign of growth. McCormack can shoot those jumpers and he likes to pull the trigger. But it’s not always the best shot for the KU offense and he doesn’t always understand that in the heat of the moment. He did in this one and, on a night when every single possession mattered a ton, that was a pretty big moment.
**5 – Remy Martin -** Martin’s still struggling offensively, shooting just 2-of-7 from the floor in this one. But he was pretty darn good in every other area, even if his defense still needs to tighten up. He drew a couple of charges, grabbed 4 rebounds, dished 5 assists and filled the first half with his signature Remy Martin energy and passion. More important than any of that was the fact that he seemed so intentional about all of it. Many of his assists came off of quick decisions and extra passes that were thrown with pace and crispness. After each, he celebrated the bucket as much or more than the teammate who scored it. Martin’s minutes were limited in the second half, most likely because of the trust factor Self has with Dajuan Harris and the fact that KU needed bigger bodies in the game to keep Texas Tech off the glass. But there’s no doubt that, in all ways, this was Martin’s best game in a while. Now he needs to make better decisions when picking his spots to shoot and continue to grind defensively. It’s coming, though. Martin’s a super sensitive topic for the KU fan base right now. Most likely because his potential is so high. But the grind he’s going through now stands to really pay off later, so patience will be a big key for everyone involved.
**6 – KJ Adams -** He seems to be close to really breaking through. And you’d never know it from talking to him. Humble, grateful for any opportunity he gets and eager to play his role, Adams has the perfect mindset for a reserve. He doesn’t care if he starts, plays a couple of minutes late in the first half or is thrown into the fire in double-overtime against the No. 13 team in the country. He just competes and competes and competes and uses his size, strength and athleticism to hang with the best of them. Adams hit 2 of 2 shots, 2 of 3 free throws and grabbed 4 rebounds to go along with his 6 points. All while playing just 16 of the 50 minutes as KU’s third big man.
**7- Dajuan Harris Jr. -** First-half foul trouble limited Harris’ minutes and opened up the opportunity for Martin. But Harris was still out there when it mattered the most. Self said at halftime that he would’ve liked to play Harris and Martin a little more together. And he did some of that in the second half. But we haven’t seen a ton of this season. Don’t count it out, though. Together, if clicking and locked in, those two could make things really hard for opponents on both ends of the floor. Harris finished with as many fouls (4) as points and shot just 2-of-10 from the floor. But he kept attacking and tried to do whatever he could to open things up for others. His pass on Agbaji’s big shot late in the first overtime looked pretty basic. But it was a big play made off of a subtle and crafty move and was indicative of the types of things he can and does do to help this team.
**8 – Mitch Lightfoot -** Lightfoot got the opportunity to hold down the 5 when McCormack showed deficiencies on defense, but he, too, struggled. Especially with foul trouble. He was whistled for a foul on what appeared to be a massive block in the first half and he finished the game with 4 fouls in just over 10 minutes. He hit both of his shots and grabbed a couple of rebounds, but wasn’t out there enough to be much of a factor. Some games will go that way and Lightfoot is comfortable powering through any and all of it.
**9 – Jalen Coleman-Lands -** The one thing you can say about Coleman-Lands night in and night out, whether he’s making shots or missing them, playing a ton or not, is that the guy tries his tail off. He’s not the most natural of defenders, but he always works. And that’s why he plays. There still figures to be a game or two — or more — where he makes a bunch of shots and helps KU win. Until those come again, you know he’ll give it all he has. In this one, that only led to 5 minutes a couple of shots and one rebound.
Season standings
———–
1 – Ochai Agbaji, 183
2 – Christian Braun, 167
3 – Dajuan Harris Jr., 140
4 – Remy Martin, 112z
5 – Jalen Wilson, 110 •
6 – David McCormack, 105
7 – Mitch Lightfoot, 102
8 – Jalen Coleman-Lands, 58
T9 – KJ Adams, 51
T9 – Joseph Yesufu, 51
11 – Zach Clemence, 41y
12 – Bobby Pettiford, 35x
• Missed first 3 games to serve a suspension
x – Out since Dec. 6 with abdominal injury (returned Jan. 11)
z – Missed 3 games with a knee injury
y – Out with a toe injury starting Jan. 11 (returned Jan. 22)
